Screen



L. C; SOTEROS AND I. S. CAVALENES.

SCREEN. I

APPLICATION FILED OCT-14, 1920.

1 39fi 405m Patented 00$. 11,, MEL

4 SHEETS-SHEET I.

L. c. somms AND 1. s. CAVALENES.

' SCREW. 1 APPLICATION FILED OCT. 14, 1920.

' Patented "Oct M, WZL

4 SHEETS-SHEET -2.

L. C. SOTEROS AND 1. S. CAVALENE S.

SCREEN.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 14. 1920.

, 1 39mm Patented 0011;. 11, m1...

1 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3- L. C. SOTEROS AND I. S. CAVALENES.

SCREEN. APPLICATION FILED 0CT.14| 1920.

L393AU5 Patented Oct. 11, W21a 4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

[object of our invention is To all whom it may concern: Be it known thatwe, LOUIS C. SOTERO and JOHN S. CAVALENES, "citizens of the UnitedStates, residing at Gary, in' the county of Lake and State of Indiana,have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Screens, of whichthe following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thisspecification.

This invention relates to screens, and more particularly to that classof screens wherein the screen fabric is adapted to be quickly withdrawnor collapsed from its normal position closing 'a door, window or otheropening.

Our invention contemplates means for quickly withdrawing the screenfabric from its normal position closing an opening without injury to thefabric andmeans for maintaining alinement between the edges of thefabric and the sides of the opening. An to insure a perfect closure ofthe opening by the fabric and its coacting parts. A further object ofour invention is to provide means for reinforcing and guiding the fabricso that it will not become distorted from prolonged usage.

These and other objects of our invention will be more clearly pointedout as the following description progresses, reference being had to thefollowing drawings, wherein,

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a window frame and outer casing, towhich a screen embodying our invention has been applied.

Fig. 2. is a detail perspective view of a portion of the screen, andassociated portions of the window frame.

Fig. 3 isa sectional elevation taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1, looking inthe. direction of the arrows. i

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1 looking in thedirection of the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on line 55 of Fig. 4, looking in thedirection of the arrows.

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective of a clip member employed in ourpreferred'con struction.

Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the means employed to hold the screenfabric in a position closing the window.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on line Y Specification of LettersPatent.

application filed Fletcher 14, 1920. Serial 1%.

Patented @ct. 11, 1921. 117,027.

I e, s of Fig. 7, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fli. 9 is a partial front elevation of a tent aving a screened opening,the screen member vention.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged detail view of the reinforcing and guiding meansemployed in the screened tent openin Fig. 11 is a sectional view on line1111 of Fig. 10, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 12 is a front elevation of a screen door embodying the features ofour invention.

1g. 13 is an enlarged view of a detail of construction. a Fig. 14 is al4-14 of F ig. of the arrows.

Similar characters of reference indicate similar parts throughout theseveral views.

In Fig. 1, 10 indicates a window to which a screen embodying thefeatures of our invention has been applied. The window is ofconventional construction, as illustrated in Fig. 3, the frame portionbeing indicated at 11, the parting strip at 12 and the outer casing at13. A window sill is provided at 14. To inwardly extending upper sashguides 15--15 of the frame 11, we rigidly secure strips 16-16 and to theinner sides of the outer casing 13, we have attached strips 17-17, thepurpose of which will presently appear. y

A housing 18 is shown intermediate the upper and lower ends of thewindow 10, the housing 18 comprising a cylindrical tube 19, having endplates 20 and 21 secured thereto by machine screws 22. The tube 19 isprovided with an aperture in its lower surface so that a screen fabric24 may be drawn from a roller 25 rotatably mounted in said housing 18 toclose the lower portion of the window opening. As shown in Figs. 1 and5, the housing 18 is interposed and fits snugly between the verticalmenibersiof the frame 11, the guides 15-15, strips 16-16 and strips17-17 being cut away to permit the insertion of the housing into thespace between said vertical members. The side plates20 and 21have'downwardly extending portions 26 and 27 respectively, saiddownwardly extending portions 26 and 27 being each provided with anelongated slot 28 in its lower edge. The sides of the slots 88 areadapted to engage sectional view taken on line 13, looking in thedirection embodying the features of our in-' the screws 29 threaded intothe vertical strips 17-17, said strips 17-17 being notched as at 29 toreceive the downwardly extending portions 26 and 27. It is apparent thatthe housing 18, comprising the tube 19 and side plates 20 and 21, isdetachably secured'in its position, and may be readily withdrawn andreplaced without removal of or injury to the window frame or itsappurtenant parts.

In our preferred construction, the roller 25 is hollow, having acomparatively thin metallic wall 32 and end caps 33 provided withflanges 34. The cap 33 at one end of the roller 25 is provided with apin 35 (not shown) coaxially disposed with said roller, said pin 35beingjournaled in the side plate 21. A rod 36 disposed in said rollerand coaxially thereto, has a stud 37 extending outwardly from the otherend of said roller. The stud 37 is adapted to enter an aperture 37 inthe plate 20 to prevent rotation of the rod 36. As shown in Fig. 5, oneof the end caps 33 is rotatably mounted upon the rod 36. A helicalspring 38 is wound around the rod 36, said spring 38 havin one of itsends secured to the wall 32 of the roller 25 and the other end securedto the rod 36. The spring 38 is normally under tension, and tends towind thefabric around said roller 25. This roller 25, rod 36 andspring'38 comprise a well-known device whereby a flexible fabric may bewound around a roller.

One end of the screen fabric 24 is secured to the roller 25. Toaccomplish this, we provide a wire 40 disposed transversel of the screenfabric, said wire 40 having the inner end of said fabric 24 lapped overupon it.

A U-shaped metallic strip 41 is pressed or crimped over the wire 40 andthe fabric surrounding it, thereby providing a comparatively rigid innerend for said fabric. The wall 32 of the roller 25 is slotted as at 43,the opposing sides of said slot 43 being bent inwardly and away fromeach other and having a co5perating member 44 to prevent furtherseparation of the sides of said slot 43. As shown in Fig. 4, the innerend of the fabric with the reinforcing wire 40 and the U-shaped strip 41are threaded into the slot from one end of said roller 25. Thisconstruction prevents'the fabric from being entirely withdrawn from theroller 25 when th said fabric is unwound from the roller toclose thewindow opening. A pair of,

guide rollers 45 and 46 interposed between and rotatably carried by theside plates 20 and 21 serve to guide the fabric 24 when it is unwoundfrom the roller. The roller 45 is disposed along the outer side of thefabric 24. The roller 46 is disposed along the inner side of said fabricand is coated with a resilient material as at 47. A lip 48 of the tube19 engages the guide roller 46, said lip 48 and guide rollers 45 and 46cotiperating to seal the upper end of the screened portion of saidwindow opening to prevent insects from entering by means of a paththrough the tube 19.

A pair of reinforcing wires 50-50 are provided for the side edges of thefabric 24. Each of the wires 50-50 is disposed along th side edge of thefabric, said side edge being lapped upon itself to inclose itsrespective wire 50. A plurality of clips 51-51 are adapted to secure thefabric 24 to the wires 50-50, the clips 51 being preferably formed asshown in Fig. 6, and comprising flat metallic strips. Each strip has oneend lapped upon itself as at 52; The end 52 is turned .back to form aslot 53. The wire 50 andthat portion of the fabric 24 which is to befastened to it are inserted into the slot and the sides of the slotpressed down upon said wire and fabric. The outwardly extending ends ofthe clips 51 are looped as at 54 and notched as at 55-55. A second pairof wires 56-56 are disposed parallel to the wires 50-50 and are securedto the outer ends of the clips 51-51 as shownin Fig. 2. Each wire 56passes through and is wrapped about the loops 54 of the respectivelongitudinal row of clips. The notches 55 prevent displacement of thewires 56-56 relatively to the wires 50-50.

Secured to the strips 16-16 and upper sash guides 15-15 by means ofscrews 60-60 are fiat metallic strips 61-61 (Fig. 3). To the inneropposing sides of the strips 17-17, we secure, by means of screws 62-62,a pair of flat strips 63-63. The flat strips 61-61 and 63-63 aredisposed parallel to the path of the screen fabric 24, each of thestrips 63-63 presenting its narrow edge to the broad face of itsassociated strip 61. As shown in Fig. 3, the strips 61-61 and 63-63 formguidew ys for the two rows of clips 51-51, the inner edge of each strip63 entering into the space between the 100 s 54 and lapped ends 52 ofsaid clips 51. his construction gives a seal at the side edges of thefabric which is perfect for all practical purposes and preventswithdrawal of the fabric from the sides of the window opening. Thefabriccannot be so greatly distorted from ordinary usage as to render it.useless.

Fixed to the free end of the fabric 24 and on the outer side of saidfabric is a bar 65. A strip of sheet metal 66 is fastened to the innerside of the bar 65. The free end of the fabric and the outer ends of thewires 55 are interposed between the strip 66 and the bar 65. The freeend of the fabric 24 is provided with a wire edge 68 similar to that ofthe side edges of said fabric. This is to prevent the fabric from beingwithdrawn from its position intermediate the bar 65 and the strip 66.Secured to each end of the bar 65 and to the ends of the strip 66 are apair of ing of an inclosure,

neaaaoe bent plate 66 As indicated at 67, the outer ends of the wires56-56 are secured to the bent plates 66 and strip 66.

As hereinbefore set forth, the spring 38 i is normally under tension andtends to wind the fabric 24 around the roller 25. To hold the fabric 24in its extended position, means have been provided to lock the baragainst the window sill 14, said means comprising a hook 69 pivotallysecured to the bar 65 and adapted to engage into the window sill 14,(Fig. 7). As the features of this invention are applicable not only toscreens for windows, but also'to screens adapted toclose, any opena formof the invention, adapted to close a doorway in a canvas tent, isillustrated in Figs. 9, 10 and 11. The canvas wall of-the tent isindicated at 71, said wall being rovided with a doorway 72. A screenfabrlc 24 is adapted to close the said doorwa 72 when said fabric isextended. A housing 18 is disposed across the top of the doorway 72 andis similar to the housing 18 of Fig. 1 hereinbefore described. Thehousing 18 contains a roller and coacting devices identical to thosehereinbefore described. The side edges of. the fabric is reinforced bywires and clips as described. To the vertical edges of the wall aboutthe doorway are attached a plurality of guide plates 73, the plates 73being adapted to coact with the clips to form a guidin means for thefabric and to seal the joint etween the fabric 24 and the wall 71.

In Fig. 12 we have illustrated a screen door embodying the features ofour invention. A screen fabric 24 and a'sheet 24 of more flexiblematerial, such as canvas, are adapted to normally close the doorway. Thecanvas sheet is disposed to close the lower portion of the doorway as itwill not be distorted if pressure is accidentally applied to it. Wireedges 75 and 76 are provided for the adjacent edges of the screen fabric24 and canvas sheet 24, respectively. Clips 77, as shown in Figs. 13 and14, are adapted to bring the adjacent edges of'the screen fabric 24 andcanvas sheet 24 in close association. The bottom edge of the canvassheet 24 and top edge of the screen fabric 24 are reinforced in amannersimilar to the aforementioned window screen construction. The

outer reinforcing wires for each of said.

edges, however, are not fastened to an end bar but are of sufficientlength to cooperate with sheaves 78-78. The sheaves 78-78 are rigidlysecured to a vertically disposed shaft 80, journaled in the door frame81. A helical spring 82 disposed around the shaft 80 has one end securedto the door frame 81 and the other end secured to the shaft 80. A roller25 and spring 38 function similarly to the roller 25 and spring 38 ofthe preferred embodiment of my invention. The

an eye threaded spring 82 is adapted to exert a greater force upon thescreen fabric 24 and the canvas 24 than the spring 38 does, the outerelongated reinforcing wires of the top edge of the screen fabric and thebottom edge of the canvas sheet being secured to and adapted to be woundabout the sheaves 7 8-78. The spring 82 is adapted to Wind thereinforcing wires about the sheaves ,7 8-7 8 and draw the screen fabricand canvas acrossthe doorway, unwinding them from the roller 25 againstthe tension of the spring 38. A handle 83 is rigidly secured to the freeend of the screen fabric 24", the screen fabric being reinforced at thispoint so that the door comprising the screen fabric and canvas may beopened by.

means of the handle 83 against the tension To open the door, it issimply pulled away from that side of the door frame 81 with which itsfree end contacts when the door is closed. The door moves, during thedisplacement in the same plane inwhich it lies when it is closed. As thedoor is displaced, the spring 38 will wind the screen fabric and canvasaround the roller 25". When the handle 83 is released, the spring 82will immediately draw the'door across the opening, the spring 82 beingdesigned to overcome the action of the spring 38 as hereinbefore pointedout.

While we have described the details of several forms of our invention,it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to thesedetails, except by the spirit and S00 e of the appended claims.

aving thus described these several forms which our invention may take,what we claim is new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States is 1. The combination with an inclosure having an openinga screen for said opening, a housing comprising side plates, means fordetachably securing said housing to the sides of said opening, a rollerrotatably mounted between said side plates, said roller having endflanges, a screen fabric having one end fixed to said roller, springmeans carried by said roller tending to wind said fabric about saidroller, a pair of uide rollers rotatabl mounted between sai side platesfor guiding said fabric, one of said rollers being coated with anelastic material to insure an insect-tight joint, a pair of wires foreach of the side edges of said fabric, the inner wire for each of saidside edges having said fabric lapped over it, clips disposed along eachof said side edges for securing each of said inner wires to the fabric,the outer Wires for each side edge being fixed'to the outer end of theclips disposed along the respective side edge, a guideway for each rowof clips, each of said guideways being secured to a side of saidopening, a bar fixed to the free end of said a housing, means fordetachably securing said housing to the sides of said opening, a

roller rotatably mounted'in said housing, a screen fabric having one endsecured to said roller, spring means carried by said roller tending to(3011 said fabric around said roller,

a pair of guide rollers for said fabric, said guide rollers .beingrotatably mounted in said housing, a pair of reinforcing wires for eachof the side edges of said fabric, the

'' inner wire for each side edge having said fabric looped over it,clips disposed along each of said side edges for securing said innerwires'to said fabric, the outer wires for each side edge being securedto the outer end of the clips disposed along the respective side edge, apair of guideways for said fabric, said guideways being each secured toa side of said opening and comprising a pair of strips coacting withsaid clips, a'bar secured to the free end of said fabric, and means forholding said-bar in contact with the end of the opening when said fabric-closes said opening.

3. The combinationwith an inclosure having an opening, of a screen forsaid opening comprising. a housin said inclosure, a r01 er rotatablycarried in said housing, a screen fabric having one end secured to saidroller means for winding said screen about said roller, a pair of wiresfor each of the side edges of said fabric, the inner wire for each ofthe side edges having its respective side edge of fabric turned overupon 1t, clips for securing said fabric to said inner wires, the outerwires being. secured to the outer ends of their respective clips, aguideway 00- acting with each row of clips, each of said .ends of saidwires, and means for said opening,

' fabric,

- detachably secured V to guideways bein secured to a side of saidopenin a bar fixed to the free end of said fabric aving means forsecurin the outer or holding thebar in contact with the end of saidopening when said fabric closes said opening.

4;. The combination with an inclosure having an opening, of a screen forsaid opening, sald screen comprisin a roller, means-for rotatablymounting said roller in said opening, a'screen fabric having one endsecured disposed along each of the side e es of said fabric and in theplane of said fabric, clips for securing each inner wire to the theouter wires being secured to those clips associated with its respectiveinner wire, and a pair of strips coacting with each longitudinal row ofclips to guide said fabric, said strips being disposed parallel to thepath of the fabric, the narrow edge of one strip being presented to abroader face of the other.

5. A screen comprising a roller, means for rotatably mounting saidroller, 0. screen fabric having one end fixed to said roller, springmeans for winding said fabric around said roller, a wire disposed alongeach side edge of said fabric, a row of clips for securing each wire tosaid fabric, said clips extending outwardly in a direction away fromsaid fabric, a second wire disposed parallel to each of saidfirst-mentioned wires and secured to the outer ends of said clips, aguideway for said fabric, said guideway comprising a pair of barsco-acting with said clips to prevent displacement or distortion of saidfabric.

In witness whereof, we hereunto subscribe our names this 5th day ofOctober, 1920.

LOUIS C. 'SOTEROS. JOHN S. CAVALENES.

Witnesses:

ALBIN C. AHLBERG, J. DAVID DICKINSON.

to said roller, a pair of reinforcing wires.

